Writers Guidelines

The American Scholar is a quarterly magazine of essays, fiction, poetry, and articles covering public affairs, literature, science, history, and culture. Published since 1932 for the general reader by the Phi Beta Kappa Society, the Scholar considers nonfiction by known and unknown writers, but unsolicited fiction, poetry, and book reviews are not accepted. The magazine accepts fewer than two percent of all unsolicited manuscripts.

Submissions will be carefully reviewed, but responses may take several months. We pay up to $500 for accepted pieces and up to $250 for pieces taken only for our website, theamericanscholar.org.

We ask that nonfiction submissions be no longer than 6,000 words. We also ask that submissions be made through Submittable, our online submissions manager system. Paper or emailed submissions will no longer be considered. Please click on the links below to submit online. Submittable will allow you to upload your piece, and log in to check on its status at any time. Please send only ONE submission at a time.

Cover letters should provide contact information and state the genre and title of the submission. Feel free to provide any other information you would like the editors to know about your work.

The best way to know what kinds of pieces we are likely to accept is to read the magazine. The magazine's home page can be found here.